The Supreme Court in this instance cancelled the
original decisions and returned the case to the lower
courts, on the technical grounds that the lower
courts had not requested the primary cadastral file to
establish whether Abdullaeva’s property was within
the area allocated to Training Project LLC in decree
no. 488.139 The case was returned to the court of
first instance to reconsider this particular technical
question. The court again found against Abdullaeva,
claiming her property was included within the land
plot allocated to the developer, a conclusion that was
confirmed on appeal by the cessation court and then
the supreme court.140 It was noted in these decisions
that the decree no. 488 had been confirmed as lawful
by the Administrative Courts, a conclusion that could
not be challenged in the civil tract.
This example repeats a pattern observed in other case
studies, wherein the hokim appears on the evidence
to exceed their powers by expropriating private
property in order to grant land to a private property
developer. Despite there being no public need for
the expropriation as defined under law, and despite
the apparent violation of due process requirements,
the Administrative Courts fail to recognise that the
offending decree violates the private property rights of
residents. Such a conclusion contradicts advice given
by oversight bodies, such as the Ombudsman and
Ministry of Justice; nevertheless, these latter opinions
hold no legal weight in court. As a result, a decree
that violates the private property rights of residents
and that exceeds the powers granted to hokims is
nevertheless upheld. This decree is then used by the
Civil Courts to justify evictions upon the payment of
compensation.
An attempt was made to contact Training Project LLC
for comment on resident complaints. No response
was received.
The next section examines two case studies involving
farming communities. There is significant evidence
to suggest real property rights have been violated by
hokims, through practices that exceed their power,
with farmers seeing no practical route for remedy
to address these abuses given the perceived lack of
judicial impartiality.
48 A False Sense of Legality